In the specification of French patent application No. 91 5999 filed on 23 Dec. 1991, it has already been proposed to provide an arrangement with a support which is provided with slotted lobes projecting radially from an internal annular crown, with each lobe carrying a friction liner that consists of two friction pads arranged back-to-back and adapted to act on either side of a common lobe.
Resilient means, which are fitted in slots in the lobes, are arranged with each resilient means between two associated friction pads. These resilient means consist essentially of an elastically deformable metallic element which is arranged to be squeezed between two friction pads.
One of the friction pads is fixed on to a lobe by means of two shouldered pins, while the other pad is mounted so as to float, by means of a loose mounting on the shouldered pins. In this way it is adapted to follow, as well as possible, any conical deformation of the pressure plate of the clutch that results from the effects of heat which is produced, in particular, by friction with the friction pads. In this way equal wear of the pads is obtained, without progressive offset towards the axis of rotation of the zone along which the friction liners are subjected to the pressure from the pressure plate and reaction plate of the clutch.
In the above mentioned document, the resilient elements are carried on the lobes, and are separate components from the latter. However, it has been thought that these resilient means may be made integral with the support.